Forgotten ones: 50,000+ young people jobless and undocumented by UK govt

Over 50,000 young Britons aged between 16 and 18 are devoid of education, employment or training, and are undocumented by local authorities. They are effectively being failed by the state, a new report reveals.

The report, ‘Out of Sight’, warns that Britain’s crisis of NEETs
– young people who are not in employment, education or training –
is far more serious than local authorities realize because tens
of thousands of them have simply “disappeared off the
radar.”

In London, a startling 15,000 of these youngsters are no longer
accounted for on public records, the research indicates.

The report’s author, Richard Brooks, carried out the research on
behalf of the Fabian Society – a socialist think tank affiliated
with the Labour Party.

Formerly a senior policy adviser to the Secretary of State for
Children, Schools and Families, Brooks is also the author and
project director for multiple publications on welfare, public
services and education.

‘Out of Sight’ warns the quality of regional data on Britain’s
NEETs has been severely eroded since the current coalition came
to power.

The scale of this catastrophe is massively understated,
particularly by local authorities, the research suggests. The
result, Brooks warns, is that thousands of unemployed youngsters
across the state are facing a serious predicament – on a limb,
lacking education or training and deprived of the state support
they so desperately require.

Brooks says the predicament of being NEET has “very serious
consequences” for young people.

“At the ages of 16 and 17 it means missing education, and at
the age of 18 it means being unemployed,” he says.

This combination can spark a downward spiral of long-term
joblessness, poverty and ill health, Brooks emphasizes.

NEETs often gravitate towards “early single parenthood and
the iniquitous cycle of inherited disadvantage,” he
stresses.

Although this socio-political problem has fallen off the
government’s policy agenda, it remains a serious crisis. The
Fabian Society’s report reveals 12.5 percent of 18 year olds in
England were NEETs last year, and the rate was far higher in
certain English urban centers. In 2013 alone, more than 80,000
young Britons became jobless.

Brooks states that the problem is huge, and has serious
socio-economic consequences. He argues in his report that the
political establishment and society at large are failing these
young people because they are often deemed simply “too hard
to help.” Confusion relating to the group’s statistical
documentation compounds matters.

‘Out of Sight’ acknowledges that growing numbers of youngsters
are staying in education after their GCSEs (school-leaving exams)
and the overall number of 16- to 18-year-old NEETs in Britain
appears to be in decline. But it warns this apparently benign
scenario is deceptive.

“The number of young people who are NEET doubles between the ages
of 17 and 18 and, ultimately, what really matters is how many
young people end up unemployed or in low skill, insecure jobs,”
Brooks says.

Understated crisis

More alarmingly, Britain’s official NEET numbers “grossly
understate the scale of the problem at local level,” he
cautions.

“We have lost track of tens of thousands of young people,
including over 50,000 NEETs across England,” Brooks says.

The result is that this vulnerable group remains isolated, and
fails to receive the help the young people require on an
individual level. Equally, they are not prioritized by
policy-makers or government officials.

Brooks says a fundamental shift in the way NEETs are viewed is
essential if tangible progress is to be made. Many misconceptions
regarding this group are rife and must be addressed, he argues.

While NEETs are commonly understood to be marginalized, troubled
and in some cases dangerous, most are not, the report reveals.
Many pursue further education, and most do not come from poor
families or have special educational requirements. Equally, few
have criminal pasts.

Rather, NEETs are generally characterized by a lack of key
qualifications and skills, particularly in mathematics and
English. Such skills are vital to secure and sustainable
employment, according to Brooks.

“The key to really reducing NEET numbers lies in ensuring
that many more young people develop their core skills and
qualifications,” he says.

“Most importantly, this means dramatically improving literacy
and numeracy through the education system.”

Continued cuts

‘Out of Sight’ was co-funded by Impetus-PEF, a private equity
foundation.

Echoing Brooks’ perspective, Jenny North, director of policy and
strategy at the organization, told the Independent that
“educational attainment is the key to employment.”

“Our educational system, both pre- and post-16, is failing
more people than we realized,” she added.

Figures relating to NEETs were formerly collected at a local
level by Connexions, an advice service for young Britons. But the
government terminated the body’s previously ring-fenced grant,
leaving councils to gather the statistics with paltry resources.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association told the
Independent that councils want to assist every young person in
the state in realizing their potential, but emphasized local
governments urgently require “more legal powers” to
ensure they can fulfill this goal.

Such enhanced legislative powers would enable local authorities
to “ensure partners [including UCAS] share vital information
as quickly as possible,” he said.

He also suggested the devolution of “all national youth
schemes to local areas” would considerably help matters and
further enable “councils to meet their duties to young
people.”

Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Communities
and Local Government Kris Hopkins announced on Thursday that
English councils will face further cuts of 1.8 percent to their
funding in 2015-16.

The Local Government Association told the BBC council services
would “buckle under the strain” of further cuts.